.38 Special performance with near .357 Magnum pressures, oh baby. What's not to love?
Charter Arms used to be a decent gun for the money, I have a 25 yo Undercover. It does the job, but it's nothing special. I've not heard much, good or bad regarding their more recent efforts. I'd probably buy a Charter before a Taurus. (Yeah, I have one of them too.)
IMHO, a 2" revolver is a decent carry gun in some instances. I'm not entirely sure it would a great "first gun." It takes a fair bit of skill to shoot a snubbie well. Even a 9mm snubbie is going to be less than enjoyable for more than a few rounds for a new shooter. IMHO, a medium frame .357 revolver using .38s is a better way to initiate a new shooter to the revolver. There is no shortage of inexpensive used 4" Model 10 or Model 19 S&Ws out there that would work great for your needs.
YMMV.